Le Le Pot 乐乐锅 @ Tiong Bahru, Singapore

For steamboat-idiots like me, the only place I could think of when it comes to having a good hot pot buffet, is Bugis (well, besides the recent Suki-Ya). Hence, it was an eye-opener, or rather, finding another hidden treasure, when girlfriend's mum, Amy suggested that we have an early re-union dinner at Le Le Pot 乐乐锅.

Located just a bus stop away, or a short walk from the bustling Tiong Bahru Plaza, Le Le Pot is an ideal choice for people looking for an affordable, yet homely and fuss-free steamboat buffet. The restaurant, opened by a part-time Mediacorp artiste, provides a wide variety of steamboat dishes, as well as home-made ones such as fried wanton, steamed dumplings and cheese fries. The deep fried buns (man tou) were a winner for all of us, as we found ourselves ordering plates and plates of that petite goodness. Other favourites include sotong balls and thin-cut beef, dipped into their various dipping sauce.

Diners can also opt to order salmon sashimi, prime beef and other exclusive "star dishes" on top of the included ones, for an additional fee, oh, desserts and drinks too. Well, of course, the best things in life are never free.

 

The thing I liked most about Le Le Pot is that unlike the usual buffet style restaurants, they do not display their dishes out-front, instead you order what you want on a piece of menu, and the service staff serves the dishes fresh from the kitchen. So you would not have to worry about pesky flies sticking their mouths on your meat or whatever, in fact, there was not a single fly in sight when I was there. That's how clean it was.

Overall, service was good, with the artiste himself helping out as well. It was weekend rush-hour at that time, but I could say that the service staff handled it well.

All in all, the buffet costs $21.80 nett (weekend), exclusive of desserts, drinks and any other additional priced items. Decent for my palate, while girlfriend thought that the Bugis's outlets are better as there were more varieties of seafood.

Le Le Pot

Tel: 6222 9442

Opening Hours

Lunch (11am – 3pm) 

Dinner (5pm – 11pm)

Blk 58 Seng Poh Road

#01-23

Moi Lum Restaurant @ Maxwell Road, Singapore

Unlike previous years when we always had Grandma's birthday dinner at the usual Boon Lay Raja restaurant, located opposite Jurong East station, this year we decided to have a change of venue, surprisingly. We are Cantonese, you see, and Grandma always insist that we stick to our own cuisine and that is why Moi Lum restaurant seems to be the perfect alternative.

With roots sinking back in the 1920s, Moi Lum Restaurant aims to bring traditional food quality while keeping up with modern tastes to cater to different walks of life. Personally, the appetizers or better known as the "cold dish/plate" in Chinese, was my favourite. For one, it is presentable enough like how every opening dish should looked like. Secondly, the subtle flavours and textures of the assorted dishes was a delight to the palate, and readied my appetite for what is to come. Please do note that the cold dishes differ from set meals to set meals depending on pricings. 

Our dinner set meal included their restaurant speciality, Majestic Crispy Roast Chicken - tender, juicy white meat lined with a thin layer of fats and crispy brown skin. On a nut shell, the dish was a tad bland especially at the breast area, but was fixed by a sprinkle of salt and freshly squeezed lime juice. It is also come complete with an abundance of crunchy crackers.

The veggies were pretty bitter without the semi-sweet oyster sauce. However, the whole mushrooms paired with braised abalone slices was just good enough to save this dish.

Seafood Golden Pockets were such adorable bites, if you still have no idea what does it look like, it is actually made in resemblance of sacks of money, while the tempura scallops are made to look like golden coins. How auspicious does this dish sounds.. Feeling rich already?

Besides dinner sets, Moi Lum also serves a series of a la carte food items and affordable set lunches (with drinks and desserts) as well. Conclusion? Not the best Cantonese cuisine out there, but definitely worth a try.

Moi Lum Restaurant Pte Ltd

Tel: 62262283

38 Maxwell Road

#01-01/02

Airview Building

Tiong Bahru Lor Mee VS Lor Mee 178 @ Tiong Bahru Food Centre, Singapore

Apart from the traditional toast sets and fried dough fritters, Lor Mee (鹵麵),  is next in line when it comes to my favourite breakfast bites. The Hokkien-inspired noodle dish is served in a thick dark gravy, made of corn starch, spices, eggs and usually comes with various ingredients such as ngoh hiang, fish cake, meat dumplings and braised egg. It is best eaten with the usual condiments - garlic, chinese parsley and chilli, (vinegar too, but not for me), as it enhances it's taste. Although traditionally served with fried fish toppings, different adaptations and even methods of cooking have since been adopted by the many stalls, providing diners a wider variety of choices and selections of the original dish.
 

If you are looking for a good bowl of Lor Mee (or rather, any other local cuisine) in Singapore, do look no further than the highly acclaimed Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre. After recent renovations, the hawker centre now serves tasty and hygenic food - in a much cleaner, spacious and satisfactory environment. It also features two of the best stalls in town if you want to have a bite of that starchy goodness.

More often than not, following your kiasu instincts and lining up for the longest queue is actually the best method in discovering great food. Well.. That is if you do not mind waiting up to 30 minutes during lunch hours, just to slurp down a bowl of noodles from Tiong Bahru Lor Mee. It is not difficult to understand why the long queue when you get your hands on their Lor Mee, the noodles are of the right texture, without being overwhelming chewy, and the braised gravy - the soul of the dish, is thick, smooth and of the right consistency.

It is served with the usual fried wanton, fishcakes, braised egg, ngoh hiang and crunchy beansprouts. Their Lor Mee comes in regular and large sizes at S$2.50 and S$3.00 respectively.

A close competitor of the same speciality that has queues as long, Lor Mee 178 (178 probably means "prospering in wealth together" in Mandarin) differentiates itself from the rest by adapting shark meat nuggets into their Lor Mee. Besides the usual ingredients, they also serve it with a handful of fried fritters, which most Lor Mee stalls have long gone subtracted it away, and that is a plus point to 178. Although it turns soggy (or rather, less crunchy) when drenched in the gravy for too long, the fried nuggests still retained its soft flossiness texture, and the coating of gravy actually enhances its flavour.

The price sets at S$2.00 for a regular-size, and S$3.00 with added shark meat nuggets.

To determine which Lor Mee reigns over the other, let's compare the following:

178's usage of traditional fried fritters and shark meat nuggets is a plus.
178's gravy is smoother and lighter in texture, but loses out in terms of flavour.
TBLM's noodles are more well-cooked and it is better in texture.
178's is more value for money, comparing pricing to the serving size/ingredients.

Verdict

It is quite a never-ending debate to decide which Lor Mee is better, but if I have to go with one between the two, it would be Tiong Bahru Lor Mee.




Tiong Bahru Market and Food Centre
#02-80 (Tiong Bahru Lor Mee)
#02-58 (Lor Mee 178)
30 Seng Poh Road

Big Mama Korean Restaurant @ Tiong Bahru, Singapore

Before the recent "Gangnam Style" craze, there was former tutor and caretaker Ji-young Nam Gung - or better known as "Big Mama" cooking up a storm in her humble eatery, located just a stone throw away from Tiong Bahru Plaza. Her authentic home-cooked Korean dishes are a favourite to many, especially Korean students who came to savour a taste of home.

Similar to any other Korean restaurants, diners are greeted to an array of assorted banchan (side dishes) to accompany your mains. At Big Mama's, we were served with kimchi (traditional fermented vegetables), marinated watercress, crunchy lotus roots, japchae (sweet potato noodles), anchovies and mook (acorn jelly). And the best thing? It is free-of-charge and refillable!

Yummy japchae - probably my favourite besides kimchi
 

Glorious Crunchy Anchovies

Girlfriend Peiyi and I ordered their speciality, Dakgalbi (S$15.00 per pax, min 2) - marinated chicken thigh chunks, chewy rice cakes, sliced cabbages and onions stir-fried together with generous drizzles of condiments and red chilli pepper paste. Additional sides, such as fried rice comes at different prices.

Don't know how to cook? Fret not, for their service staff are trained to make the simplest ingredients to the signature, mouth-watering Dakgalbi!

Apparently, ours came in an overly-awkward shape.

Mix. Mix. Mix.

Their Dakgalbi reminded me of the ones I had in Korea a few years back. The well-marinated spicy chicken chunks were incredibly good and tasty, while the rice cakes were so so soft and chewy (I am putting heavy emphasis on "so"). This is definitely one of the best Korean dishes I had in Singapore.

Just a tip - add a bowl of steamed rice and stir fry them together!

 "I love it when it is clean" (referring to the dishes), one of the service staff told us with a slight aegyo. And yes, we indeed cleared out every single plate on our tables. Although not an atas restaurant, Big Mama makes authentic and scrumptious Korean dishes without burning a big hole in your wallet.

Big Mama Korean Restaurant

Tel: +65 6270 7704

Opening Hours
11:30am – 2:30pm,
5:30pm – 11:0pm
Closed on most Mondays

2 Kim Tian Road
Tiong Bahru

Eighteen Chefs @ Tiong Bahru Plaza, Singapore

It was some times back when Peiyi and yours truly decided to get some light bites after a movie. After mulling for a few minutes, we decided to settle for Eighteen Chefs, a brainchild of former drug addict and convict, Chef Benny who believes in providing a positive working environment and experience for troubled youths and ex-convicts. Hence, do not be alarmed when a young man, full of tatoos is serving you. What a noble cause!

With students and youths as their targeted patrons (discounts or specials when you display your student pass etc), I wasn't convince about the food quality. Perhaps of previous bad experiences, I do not trust them as much. Eighteen Chefs surprised me. I wouldn't say that it was exceptionally good, but it was considerably above average, given that most of their dishes are value for money.

Down to the food, we ordered the Bolognaise Cheese Fries (S$4.90) - mozzarella cheese-baked fries topped with classic beef bolognaise sauce. The fries portion was generous and I assure you that they neither scrimp on their sauce.

With the flavour incorporated to every single potato fry, this afternoon snack makes the cut to be one of their signature dishes. Do note however, that the cheese fries are really filling, so it is recommended to share this among 2-3 people, if you are eating it along with their mains.

Look at that cheesy goodness!

The Waffle w/ Vanilla ice cream (S$6.50) topped up with chocolate fudge was okay. While the Belgian waffles is a little too cold for my liking, the generous drizzle of chocolate fudge is a plus point. 

 

Eighteen Chefs also provides customized pastas or cheese baked dishes, where you D-I-Y your meals by choosing from a wide selection of sauces and ingredients, and they cook it for you.

Eighteen Chefs

#01-K2/K6

302 Tiong Bahru Road

Tiong Bahru Plaza